Week 9 - Happy Holidays Edition
Just about 2 months in to the 2010-2011 campaign of ITL Fantasy Hoops, and we've got some interesting happenings. There's a clear-cut top 5, four teams bunched behind them peeking in, and three cellar dwellers that aren't quite out of it yet. It's too early for that. Remember that I lost six straight weeks through mid-January before turning it around, making the playoffs with the 5th seed, en route to the 2009-2010 championship. (I love telling that story).
With that, my rankings:
THE BOTTOM 3
12. Vinegar Strokes - Not up to Cody's usual standards. Four losses in the last five, though some credit for knocking off Michael's MonStars in Week 6. Boozer missed most of the beginning, and Billups is out now, so the team hasn't been healthy. We'll see if the newly acquired Joe Johnson and the return of Chauncey can get Cody out of the cellar.
11. Johnny's Bananas - This is the "it makes me sad" ranking of the week. Trent's team, with some decent management, would probably be top 5 in the league. Rose is having a break-out year, Beasley's learning to play basketball, Jefferson's finding his groove in Utah, Griffin's been the stud we all hoped he would be, Wade is playing back to form, and Harris, Okafor, and Green are up to their usual tricks. So what's the problem? Total lack of participation, lack of lineup setting, lack of injury list moves (Kaman, Morrow are currently injured, Harris was injured for a long time), lack of FA pickups, and just overall lack of interest in the league. GM of the Year in 2008-2009, Trent's got my vote for the Toilet Bowl Award this year.
10. ItsTheRookie - In contrast to Knappster, Karan's brought new life to the league with (tied for) league-leading 32 pickups and just overall enthusiasm. Too bad that hasn't transformed into his players doing well. He thought he'd found gold with Ibaka, but that has tapered off of late, Odom's bound to fall off with Bynum's imminent return to the starting lineup, and injuries to Camby, Evans, and Hill haven't helped either. That said, Durant is still a huge fantasy talent, Bogut's return from injury has been stellar, and Monta's been nuts. We'll see if he can put it all together, or else his ITL debut will end like many debuts before him: without a playoff berth. But he won't go down without a fight.
FIGHTING FOR THE PLAYOFFS
9. I Felton Her Bibbys - I had Jayson in this 9 spot before I realized that Bridges got the short end of a Week 8 showdown, so for now, Bridges falls to 9. Never one to blame himself or his players for his team's poor performance, Trent has blamed his job, the rules, and other players for his team's lackluster performance. Whether he's correct or not, the Bibbys have struggled losing 4 of their last 6, with their only wins over Matt and Cody, two of the league's other relatively weak squads. Unfortunately, it really hasn't all been Trent's fault: the injury bug has hit the Bibbys hard. Rondo, Curry, Crawford, and Bargnani are all battling injuries, and without some of them, the squad has tread water nicely. Look for a bounceback upon their return, but for now, 9th it is.
8. Loud Lezbos - Call it a curse if you wish, but the Lezbos certainly haven't lived up to their #1 Post Draft ranking. Unfortunately, Jayson had a three-week stretch with the 3 of the top 4 teams in the league (see below), in which he went 9-18 before knocking off Bridges in Week 8. But, those are the stretches that you have to weather to succeed in ITL, and Jayson suffered in the standings as a result. Love's been a beast, Carmelo's playing well despite the rumors, and LBJ is picking it back up (albeit, not quite living up to #2 overall), but the questions pick up after that. How will the team respond to the Elton Brand acquisition? Can Wilson Chandler become a consistent fantasy stud? How long will Brandon Jennings really be out? Can Jayson make the playoffs? We'll see.
7. Money $hooters - Had these rankings come out 2 weeks ago, Matt would have found himself hovering around 10th or 11th. But, two short victories later (including a 6-3 win over the War Monkeys), Matt's back in contention in both the Review and the standings (just 2.5 games out of the 6th seed). The interesting part? Matt's done all this with Wall injured and Lopez playing like garbage. West and Lee are playing well, Nate Robinson was a great pickup with Rondo out in Boston, and Felton's looking like the best pick of the draft so far. We'll see if Matt can keep it up and get healthy, and perhaps threaten for his first playoff berth since 2006-2007, and only 2nd ever.
6. Tastykake Phanatics - After three weeks, Duarte was making me look smart by ranking him 12th overall in my post-draft rankings by losing them all. Since? 4 straight wins and a tie to vault up the standings into 6th place in both my rankings and the standings. Westbrook may battle Felton as the pick of the draft, Kobe's playing like Kobe (although, we can still argue whether he was the right choice at #4 overall), Bynum's back, and perhaps Rashard can re-find himself in Washington (wishful thinking, I know). Either way, Duarte's back, and it's good to see.
CONTENDERS
5. War Monkeys - Paul's up to his usual tricks; slow and steady success. Somehow, Paul always finds himself near the top of the standings. But, he's seen a bit of a dropoff after winning 4 of his first 5 weeks: two straight losses to Matt then Duarte. In any event, Paul's in fine shape: Nash, Nene, Granger, and Duncan are doing just fine; Calderon's back playing well (although still in a bit of a timeshare with Bayless), and Davis is at least back playing. But, a Brandon Roy injury doesn't help, and the schedule certainly isn't favorable: Kevdog's Ballers this week, Jeff next week, and Michael after that. We'll see if Paul can weather this storm.
4. Kevdog's Ballers - Nothing too exciting from my squad: a slow start, followed by 5 straight wins before falling to my GM of the Year candidate last week. Manu and Tony Parker are making both the Spurs and my squad better than expected; Garnett and Ray Allen are doing the same in Boston and for me too. Daniel Gibson's been a great pickup for me, and Dirk has finally made me glad I took him 4th overall. Even Bosh has been getting in on the fun. But, an injury to Gerald Wallace and a lack of minutes from Tyrus Thomas have held me back just a bit. In any event, I like my squad, and think I'm setting myself up well for another run.
3. The MonStars - We all hate this, but, another year, and another year of the Boyd brothers gracing the top of ITL. Michael's a perennial contender, so there's no surprise here. He's the most vocal, most irrational, least satisfied owner out there, but it leads to success every year. However, after scaring us all with 5 straight wins to start the year, Michael's had a little pullback losing 2 of the last 3 to my #12 and #11. Perhaps Michael only gets up for the big games? Judging by how many times Michael has indicated that he gets an erection from fantasy basketball, that could be true in more than one way. Regardless, Michael will be a tough matchup no matter when you face him.
2. Prestige Worldwide - My early front-runner for GM of the Year, Steven's back and better than ever after years of frustration. Steven started the year winning 4 of 5, then fell off with 2 straight losses, but got back on track with a victory over Kevdog's Ballers last week. The Kidd-Pau combo's been huge, but it's guys like Conley, Pierce, Noah (before the injury), and Udrih(!) who have really given Steven his success. Gallinari's been a bit of a disappointment, but is turning it around, and perhaps Hedo can re-find his Magic in Orlando (get it?). Big matchups with the Boyds this week and next; could Steven be my first #1 of the New Year?
1. Lightning Jeffs - As much as it pains me to do this, there's no denying success when it stares you in the face. Jeff's only loss of the year came at the hands of his little brother (4-5), and other than that, it's all 6-3 wins for the Jeffs, except for a 5-4 victory over Karan last week. That makes 5 straight wins -- but, take a look at who Jeff has beat during that streak: 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 in my rankings. And I swear, I didn't rig it so it's like this. What's that mean? Jeff's next 6 weeks will be battles with the league's top 7 teams. We'll see if Jeff can get through that storm, but in the meantime, Jeff's in great shape, and is looking to get back to the finals after a one-year hiatus.
That's all folks. Let me know what you think by posting on the message board.
With that, my rankings:
THE BOTTOM 3
12. Vinegar Strokes - Not up to Cody's usual standards. Four losses in the last five, though some credit for knocking off Michael's MonStars in Week 6. Boozer missed most of the beginning, and Billups is out now, so the team hasn't been healthy. We'll see if the newly acquired Joe Johnson and the return of Chauncey can get Cody out of the cellar.
11. Johnny's Bananas - This is the "it makes me sad" ranking of the week. Trent's team, with some decent management, would probably be top 5 in the league. Rose is having a break-out year, Beasley's learning to play basketball, Jefferson's finding his groove in Utah, Griffin's been the stud we all hoped he would be, Wade is playing back to form, and Harris, Okafor, and Green are up to their usual tricks. So what's the problem? Total lack of participation, lack of lineup setting, lack of injury list moves (Kaman, Morrow are currently injured, Harris was injured for a long time), lack of FA pickups, and just overall lack of interest in the league. GM of the Year in 2008-2009, Trent's got my vote for the Toilet Bowl Award this year.
10. ItsTheRookie - In contrast to Knappster, Karan's brought new life to the league with (tied for) league-leading 32 pickups and just overall enthusiasm. Too bad that hasn't transformed into his players doing well. He thought he'd found gold with Ibaka, but that has tapered off of late, Odom's bound to fall off with Bynum's imminent return to the starting lineup, and injuries to Camby, Evans, and Hill haven't helped either. That said, Durant is still a huge fantasy talent, Bogut's return from injury has been stellar, and Monta's been nuts. We'll see if he can put it all together, or else his ITL debut will end like many debuts before him: without a playoff berth. But he won't go down without a fight.
FIGHTING FOR THE PLAYOFFS
9. I Felton Her Bibbys - I had Jayson in this 9 spot before I realized that Bridges got the short end of a Week 8 showdown, so for now, Bridges falls to 9. Never one to blame himself or his players for his team's poor performance, Trent has blamed his job, the rules, and other players for his team's lackluster performance. Whether he's correct or not, the Bibbys have struggled losing 4 of their last 6, with their only wins over Matt and Cody, two of the league's other relatively weak squads. Unfortunately, it really hasn't all been Trent's fault: the injury bug has hit the Bibbys hard. Rondo, Curry, Crawford, and Bargnani are all battling injuries, and without some of them, the squad has tread water nicely. Look for a bounceback upon their return, but for now, 9th it is.
8. Loud Lezbos - Call it a curse if you wish, but the Lezbos certainly haven't lived up to their #1 Post Draft ranking. Unfortunately, Jayson had a three-week stretch with the 3 of the top 4 teams in the league (see below), in which he went 9-18 before knocking off Bridges in Week 8. But, those are the stretches that you have to weather to succeed in ITL, and Jayson suffered in the standings as a result. Love's been a beast, Carmelo's playing well despite the rumors, and LBJ is picking it back up (albeit, not quite living up to #2 overall), but the questions pick up after that. How will the team respond to the Elton Brand acquisition? Can Wilson Chandler become a consistent fantasy stud? How long will Brandon Jennings really be out? Can Jayson make the playoffs? We'll see.
7. Money $hooters - Had these rankings come out 2 weeks ago, Matt would have found himself hovering around 10th or 11th. But, two short victories later (including a 6-3 win over the War Monkeys), Matt's back in contention in both the Review and the standings (just 2.5 games out of the 6th seed). The interesting part? Matt's done all this with Wall injured and Lopez playing like garbage. West and Lee are playing well, Nate Robinson was a great pickup with Rondo out in Boston, and Felton's looking like the best pick of the draft so far. We'll see if Matt can keep it up and get healthy, and perhaps threaten for his first playoff berth since 2006-2007, and only 2nd ever.
6. Tastykake Phanatics - After three weeks, Duarte was making me look smart by ranking him 12th overall in my post-draft rankings by losing them all. Since? 4 straight wins and a tie to vault up the standings into 6th place in both my rankings and the standings. Westbrook may battle Felton as the pick of the draft, Kobe's playing like Kobe (although, we can still argue whether he was the right choice at #4 overall), Bynum's back, and perhaps Rashard can re-find himself in Washington (wishful thinking, I know). Either way, Duarte's back, and it's good to see.
CONTENDERS
5. War Monkeys - Paul's up to his usual tricks; slow and steady success. Somehow, Paul always finds himself near the top of the standings. But, he's seen a bit of a dropoff after winning 4 of his first 5 weeks: two straight losses to Matt then Duarte. In any event, Paul's in fine shape: Nash, Nene, Granger, and Duncan are doing just fine; Calderon's back playing well (although still in a bit of a timeshare with Bayless), and Davis is at least back playing. But, a Brandon Roy injury doesn't help, and the schedule certainly isn't favorable: Kevdog's Ballers this week, Jeff next week, and Michael after that. We'll see if Paul can weather this storm.
4. Kevdog's Ballers - Nothing too exciting from my squad: a slow start, followed by 5 straight wins before falling to my GM of the Year candidate last week. Manu and Tony Parker are making both the Spurs and my squad better than expected; Garnett and Ray Allen are doing the same in Boston and for me too. Daniel Gibson's been a great pickup for me, and Dirk has finally made me glad I took him 4th overall. Even Bosh has been getting in on the fun. But, an injury to Gerald Wallace and a lack of minutes from Tyrus Thomas have held me back just a bit. In any event, I like my squad, and think I'm setting myself up well for another run.
3. The MonStars - We all hate this, but, another year, and another year of the Boyd brothers gracing the top of ITL. Michael's a perennial contender, so there's no surprise here. He's the most vocal, most irrational, least satisfied owner out there, but it leads to success every year. However, after scaring us all with 5 straight wins to start the year, Michael's had a little pullback losing 2 of the last 3 to my #12 and #11. Perhaps Michael only gets up for the big games? Judging by how many times Michael has indicated that he gets an erection from fantasy basketball, that could be true in more than one way. Regardless, Michael will be a tough matchup no matter when you face him.
2. Prestige Worldwide - My early front-runner for GM of the Year, Steven's back and better than ever after years of frustration. Steven started the year winning 4 of 5, then fell off with 2 straight losses, but got back on track with a victory over Kevdog's Ballers last week. The Kidd-Pau combo's been huge, but it's guys like Conley, Pierce, Noah (before the injury), and Udrih(!) who have really given Steven his success. Gallinari's been a bit of a disappointment, but is turning it around, and perhaps Hedo can re-find his Magic in Orlando (get it?). Big matchups with the Boyds this week and next; could Steven be my first #1 of the New Year?
1. Lightning Jeffs - As much as it pains me to do this, there's no denying success when it stares you in the face. Jeff's only loss of the year came at the hands of his little brother (4-5), and other than that, it's all 6-3 wins for the Jeffs, except for a 5-4 victory over Karan last week. That makes 5 straight wins -- but, take a look at who Jeff has beat during that streak: 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 in my rankings. And I swear, I didn't rig it so it's like this. What's that mean? Jeff's next 6 weeks will be battles with the league's top 7 teams. We'll see if Jeff can get through that storm, but in the meantime, Jeff's in great shape, and is looking to get back to the finals after a one-year hiatus.
That's all folks. Let me know what you think by posting on the message board.
posted by K.C.R. at
11:48 AM
1 Comments:
I love being underestimated. Bring it on.
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